The classroom pulses with tiny, high-pitched voices – new readers at work.
“We’re smart!” student Abdoulie Jammeh exults after he locates the word “frog.”
Experts consider Abdoulie lucky to be in Jean Augsburger’s classroom in Madison’s Mendota Elementary, one of the many classrooms where school districts are pushing the limits of the state’s school funding formula to train teachers and offer unique curriculums.
And more state classrooms could be like Augsburger’s high-energy kindergarten, said UW-Madison education professor Allan Odden, a nationally known expert on school finance.